Charged with embezzling 1.2 billion won of company funds and concealing 25 billion won in criminal proceeds... Court sentences 2 years imprisonment
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Lee Yong-ho (62), former chairman of G&G Group and the central figure in the power-related corruption scandal 'Lee Yong-ho Gate' during the Kim Dae-jung administration, has been sentenced to prison for another financial crime about five years after being brought to trial.
On the 15th, the Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Chief Judge Lee Hwan-seung) announced that it sentenced former Chairman Lee to two years in prison on charges including violation of the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment, embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and violation of the Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act.
In July 2015, Lee was arrested and indicted on charges including using 1.23 billion KRW of company funds from a venture capital firm in which he had invested shares to repay personal debts in 2014.
He was also charged with hiding the fact that 25.1 billion KRW, illegally borrowed by his accomplice Kim (59) from the Gimhae Credit Cooperative in Gyeongnam, was criminal proceeds, and failing to disclose three loans totaling 8.3 billion KRW secured by company shares as a major shareholder of a listed company.
The crimes occurred less than a year after Lee was released from prison after serving a three-year sentence for fraud.
The court stated, "The defendant concealed a large amount of criminal proceeds and embezzled company funds. While managing the company, he registered family members and others in the company registry and committed crimes under their names, thoroughly hiding his own existence and committing the crimes cunningly, which shows the bad nature of the crime."
It added, "He denied most of the crimes by asserting fabricated facts related to the flow of funds or forcibly fitting the facts, consistently making unacceptable excuses. He has a history of multiple punishments for corporate-related crimes and committed the crimes again during the recidivism period, less than three years after his previous sentence ended, without showing remorse."
Meanwhile, the 'Lee Yong-ho Gate' was a representative power-related corruption scandal in the early 2000s, in which Lee, backed by influential figures in politics and government, committed financial crimes such as stock price manipulation through treasure ship salvage projects. The special prosecutor's investigation at the time revealed involvement of the president's relatives, the prosecutor general's brother, the National Intelligence Service, the Financial Supervisory Service, and National Tax Service officials.
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